Babywearing is becoming more and more popular, but it’s still seen by many as different and unusual. And, just with anything that’s not the norm, there are plenty of myths flying around about babywearing. As I wear my baby every day, I get to hear these a LOT, usually in form of concerns by friends and family, but sometimes from strangers who feel the need to share their opinions. The most annoying myths? Here they are:

She’ll never learn to walk: People do genuinely thing that, if you carry your baby in a sling when you’re out, they will never be able to walk. You don’t hear people say babies won’t learn to walk if they go in a pushchair, so I don’t know why it’s different for slings. I actually heard this for the first time when my baby was about 4 months old – it’s not like she’d be walking at that age, anyway! And I have a friend who carries her 3 year old on her back for the school run. One day her toddler wanted to walk instead and she said another mom had exclaimed “I didn’t know she could walk” and was genuinely shocked!

Babywearing is unsafe: I find it annoying when people say this and they don’t know anything about babywearing, they just think the baby will fall out or be unable to breathe. I actually had someone ask me if my baby could breathe “in there” once. Seriously, I would not endanger my own child. Babywearing is perfectly safe, as long as you know how to do it correctly.

She’ll be too clingy: I really despise how being “clingy” is seen as a bad thing. Babies should feel comforted and supported by being with their parents. It’s a scary world out there, and it’s nice to have someone to “cling” to when you’re small.

You won’t be able to do that much longer: Another one I’ve been hearing since pretty much day one, along with “you’ll have to get a buggy soon, she’ll be too heavy”. Actually, I carried my baby for nine months, so I’m pretty good at carrying her and, because I’ve carried her every day, my strength has increased as her weight has. Having an ergonomically designed sling helps spread the weight, too. People are often surprised when I say my toddler feels weightless in the sling.

You’re making a rod for your own back: My rod, my back! Besides, how many teenagers want to be carried around by their moms? I’m just making the most of the snuggles while I can.

It looks really difficult: Using a sling can be a bit tricky at first but, once you’ve practiced a few times, it really does become second nature. However, when someone says that to me and I tell them it’s easy, they sometimes decide to stay and watch me. That’s usually when I get myself into knots!

Susan Black is a UK based mother to a beautiful toddler, writer and self-confessed baby sling addict! She is a great believer in, and advocate of, attachment parenting, breastfeeding and babywearing. In her spare time she runs a sling meet, where she helps parents in her area learn to safely carry their babies. Her hobbies are baking, geocaching and arts and crafts. You can find Susan here on Momtastic, and at her Facebook page.